PQRS Reporting Update

On January 1, 2017

2016 PQRS Reporting Deadline has been extended to March 17, 2017 at 5:00 pm ET

PQRS (formerly PQRI) was developed by CMS in 2007 as a voluntary pay-for-reporting program offering a financial incentive to physicians and other eligible professionals who report data on quality measures for covered services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. For the current reporting period (CY 2016) there is no positive reporting incentive, but eligible diplomates who do not satisfactorily report data in 2016 will incur a 2% payment penalty in 2018. The PQRS payment adjustment applies to all of the eligible diplomates’ Part B covered professional services under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). ABMS diplomates who have not yet started their 2016 PQRS Reporting and need access to a reporting registry for their PQRS data may report through the MedConcert® site at an ABMS discounted rate of $199.

Three additional PQRS Wizard webcast presentations will be hosted to further inform ABMS Diplomates about the 2016 PQRS Program and will include a live Q&A session immediately following each webcast.

In order to assist ABMS diplomates with the successful completion of the 2016 PQRS Reporting Requirements, Member Boards are encouraged to share the following information with their diplomates:

PQRSwizard and the Measure Applicability Validation Process

Submitting your PQRSwizard Report: A review of the most frequently asked questions of 2016

As most of you know, the PQRS program, along with other incentive programs, have been folded into the new Quality Payment Program implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. Most measures and all currently available reporting methods will be preserved for the first year of QPP reporting in 2017, which will affect payments in 2019.